FTII Students’ Strike, Frustrated, Tainted, Intelligent but Not Innocent

Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment on FTII may be wrong but is that the only reason behind student’s on-going strike? Certainly not. The main reason behind the all this episode is corruption, hence everybody e.g. students, ex-students, administration, politicians wants to have control on it. This institute is not premier anymore. People who claim to be fighting for the Institute’s pride and eminence are just fooling everyone. Being in the field of acting, they write and execute the script according to their will and put its edited version and claim that as a truth.

Photo Courtsey Ravi karandeekar

I got involved in this FTII matter because of Right to Information ( RTI ) only. One fine morning a media person called me asking how to go ahead with RTI in order to get some information immediately, because filing regular RTI may waste precious time. I asked her to carry out office inspection under section 4 of the RTI Act,  because all she wanted to know was about the letters shared and communication between the FTII director and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), registrar and ministry, dean and ministry with respect to the strike and the minutes of all the discussions held between the SM-Khan led three- member delegation and director, registrar, faculty, students and staff on August 21.

Dues of cash advance till july 22015

She gave intimation to the institute but FTII didn’t give any information. Hence after giving the same intimation, I went personally for inspecting the files. This time they were ready with limited transparency. They provided me some information on a pen drive and as earlier director had just transferred , asked for 8 to 10 days time because the correspondence was from the personal email ID of the then Director. 

dues of Cash advance till july 2015

As for the minutes of the meeting held on 21.8.2015 between S. M. Khan led three-member delegation and Director, Registrar, faculty, students and staff are concerned; they said that the information was not available with FTII. This was totally unacceptable and wrong. They also denied the documents related with the assessment of 2008 batch students since the assessment was kept on hold and the process was yet to complete. That was ok.

dues of Cash advance till july 2015

However whatever information I obtained under the RTI Act and later through my sources is shocking and throws light on the chaos, illegalities, mismanagement, corruption and misbehavior of the administration, faculty and students.

Being students, they get support and sympathy from all walks of the society. This has not happened for the first time. Every time a chairman, director or faculty not of their liking is appointed, students call them incompetent. The only self-proclaimed entity that is always competent in FTII for the past so many years is the students.

Let us first see the reasons behind such repetitive agitations.

1) If a student doesn’t complete his course or project within the stipulated time, they are still entitled to free accommodation ,  subsidized food and no fees.

2) Students get cash advance for projects and hardly anybody checks the accounts and whether the cash is spent on legitimate heads.

3) Students can do private jobs in extended periods of free stay with subsidized food and cash advance in the hostel.

To avail of all these facilities, some students take the faculty and some from the administration in their loop and enjoy these facilities for years together. This is not the first time that the students haven’t completed their courses or projects in the stipulated time.

Academic councils decision on 11 April2014

The present agitation is connected with the first reason. It all started because of 70th meeting of Academic Council of FTII held on 11 April 2014. In this meeting it was decided that any student who does not complete any project or any part of the curriculum due to personal reasons and which adversely affect the running of the academic curriculum as well as affects the learning of the other students, must not be allowed to continue.Normally students claim differences with the faculty as a cause of delay in completing projects. Therefore the Council decided that differences amongst the team members needs to be resolved by them in case of delays are caused because of differences. The project even though incomplete, will have to be stopped within the time frame and assessment will be done accordingly, on as is where is basis.

And this is the root cause of the present agitation. But there was no way they could oppose this resolution, although they managed to pass ample time. But as earlier the director was about to transfer and  there was need to find some reason for fresh agitation to go on strike before new one takes charge. This meant that students may have to leave the campus and also immediately clear the cash advance dues if he would act as per resolutions passed in Academic Council.Suddenly with the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan and 4 others, they found an opportunity to strike. Actually, the President of FTII or chairman of its Governing Council does not have any special powers. Decisions are taken in governing council meetings on “majority carries the point” basis. And as this appointment was backdated, newly appointed committee would hardly make any difference. But the students hyped this issue.

Minutes of meeting director an all HoD's

Meanwhile the Ministry asked the newly appointed director to go ahead with assessment as per resolution dated 11 April 2014. Accordingly, it was decided that projects including the incomplete ones should be assessed. Extensions had been given to these students in 2013 as well as in 2014 and there doesn't seem to be any logic in giving any further extension. It was also decided that students can be asked to vacate the hostels though, they should be given opportunity to complete the remaining work including post production on the projects or exercises, for which they may be provided facilities as and when available and guest house accommodation on individual basis.  There was nothing wrong in this decision. Even then the students opposed and held the Director hostage and insulted the national anthem. Even then director didn’t file a FIR against them for contempt of national anthem. In this case Heads of the departments  that proposed and signed the minutes of this latter on denied any of such decision because many HoD's faculties are ex - students of FTII and any such may have put some restrictions on corruption and using facilities free of cost.

Now do the students really care about institute’s reputation? In the past one and half years at least 15 times, the police have knocked at the doors of the FTII in the wee hours, because of complaints of noise of late night cocktail parties. However,During the former director D J Narain's tenure the students seem to have got freehand  and this is well understood because no police dared to enter the premises despite of serious police complaints and incidents that happened in the institute during earlier many director's term Had they allowed them to enter, many including students would have been behind bars. There are several instances of liquor parties of students in FTII, which are recorded in security diary. Is this their love for reputation of institute?

Parties recorded in campus

Students are allowed to take cash advance for there projects. But hardly any body ever submits accounts. Outstanding dues of the cash advance till July 2015 are around Rs 20 lakhs. Till 31st March 2015, the dues were around Rs18 lakhs. That means students had to either submit accounts for that amount or had to return that money to the Institute. Some of the dues are pending since 2012. If audited carefully the expenses from advances may attract severe punishment. And in this case students are not alone administration also has dues to clear.

Parties recorded in campus

 There are hundreds of incidences of damage to the Institute’s property from students.

Next incidence may not be related to the students. But a camera worth Rs5 lakhs was stolen from the Institute. But FIR was not lodged for some time. Later on it was decided to lodge the FIR, initially police refused to do so, but as it was government property they accepted the complaint and HoD also didn't insisted on lodging FIR. However when police went to investigate administration didn’t allow them do so.Also they on investigation  Hence police closed the case. Who is responsible for this loss?

This may be the India’s first agitation, which is being run from government buildings and funds. FTII has landed itself in more trouble by not only paying air fare to the agitating students to go to Delhi but also because FTII has admitted the fasting students in private hospitals at great cost. In reality, where was the need for FTII to pay for the agitating fasting students and least of all in a private expensive hospital at tax-payers' cost. Later on when I put this matter on face book Director Prashant Pathrabe realized that the strike was illegal and confessed. And that hospital bills for the first two fasting students were paid as courtesy. Courtesy , at whose cost? The students sat on a fast of their own sweet will while the cost of the repercussions is being borne by the tax-payers. These students are one up over our politicians as far as enjoying five-star facilities!!

Now ,  as the students have successfully prevented administration from new admissions to take place. The Government should immediately order an audit by the C&AG so that the agitation would come to an end automatically‼

Realted Stories

FTII row, non issue being stretched too far

Subscribe for Free

To receive free emails or free RSS feeds, please, subscribe to Vijay Kumbhar's Exclusive News & Analysis

RTI KATTA

RTI KATTA is a platform to empower oneself through discussions amongst each other to solve their problems by using Right to Information act, Every Sunday at Chittaranjan Watika, Model Colony,Shivaji nagar, Pune, between 9.30 to 10.30 A.M.

Vijay Kumbhar

RTI Resource Person, RTI Columnist

Phone – 9923299199

Email – kvijay14@gmail.com

Website – http://surajya.org              

Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/kvijay14

Twitter -  https://twitter.com/Vijaykumbhar62

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/kvijay14